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Author News & Interviews

Kaira Rouda is a USA TODAY bestselling, multiple-award-winning author of contemporary fiction. Her latest novel, BEST DAY EVER, is a psychological thriller about a married couple whose planned romantic weekend at their lake house is far from being the “best day ever” that Paul Strom had promised his wife, Mia. In this interview conducted by Carol Fitzgerald, the president and co-founder of The Book Report Network, Rouda talks about what inspired her to write her first work of psychological suspense, why the dinner scene is one of her favorite parts of the book, how social media has contributed toward the feeling of what is “perfect,” and her personal connection to Ohio, where the novel takes place.

Jamie Ford, whose debut novel HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET is being adapted into a film, returns with a new work of historical fiction. Inspired by a true story, LOVE AND OTHER CONSOLATION PRIZES is about a boy whose life is transformed at Seattle’s 1909 World’s Fair. In this interview conducted by Carol Fitzgerald, the president and co-founder of The Book Report Network, Ford discusses his inspiration for the novel, the social issues that are explored here (specifically class in its many forms as an underlying theme), and his penchant for writing strong female characters. He also talks about his decision to add titles to his chapters, why his original title for the book, “The Consolation Prize,” had to be scrapped, his tendency to overdo it when it comes to his research, and what readers can look forward to seeing from him in the near future.

J.T. Ellison writes dark psychological thrillers starring Nashville Homicide Lt. Taylor Jackson and medical examiner Dr. Samantha Owens, and pens the Nicholas Drummond series with fellow bestselling author Catherine Coulter. Her latest stand-alone novel, LIE TO ME, is about the disintegration of a marriage as grief, jealousy, betrayal and murder destroy the facade of the perfect literary couple. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com’s Joe Hartlaub, Ellison discusses her inspiration for the book, which is more of a domestic thriller than the police procedural to which her fans have become accustomed; talks about how the structure of the novel changed as she was attempting to find the right rhythm for this “rhythm book”; explains what her book journal is and includes a few examples from the journal she used for LIE TO ME; and offers a sneak peek at her numerous upcoming projects.

Eva Woods has written two women’s fiction novels, as well as crime fiction under her own name, Claire McGowan, all in the UK. She makes her North American debut with SOMETHING LIKE HAPPY, which finds the two main characters --- one of whom starts out the book cynical and depressed, and the other of whom is initially positive and upbeat --- embarking on a remarkable mission: One hundred days. One hundred new ways to be happy. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com's Megan Elliott, Woods talks about how her own experiences at a young age influenced the writing of her book, her struggle to balance the more uplifting parts of her story with the harsh reality of her protagonist’s illness, and the message she would like readers to take away after turning the last page.

Philippa Gregory’s latest novel, THE LAST TUDOR, features one of the most famous girls in history, Lady Jane Grey, and her two sisters, each of whom dared to defy her queen. In this interview, Gregory talks about the book’s origin, explaining why she was interested in telling the story of all three Grey sisters and with three different narrators. She also discusses what surprised her in the course of writing it, the film that introduced her to the Tudors when she was just a teenager, and her involvement in a project called Gardens for The Gambia, which was established in 1993 to provide water for wells in the gardens of rural schools in The Gambia, one of the poorest countries in Africa.